Photos: A lovely Saturday at Gaslight with The Scriveners and friends

June 17, 2025

Nick Spacek,

The Scriveners. // photo by Nick Spacek

The Scriveners
with Party Helmet and Vicar Amelia
Gaslight Gardens
Saturday, June 14

It was muggy and still, and the Gaslight patio was still dummy-packed Saturday night for a diverse three-band bill. Cheap (good) beers and just enough fans to keep the air from turning into a haze of nicotine and THC kept the audience relaxed and entranced as the sun went down.

Lawrence/KC ‘hard pop plus saxophone’ band the Scriveners are the kind of band that could play with anyone. The Ants? Party Helmet? White Line Nightmares? The Scriveners would fit right in with their loud, catchy-but-abrasive tunes, whose inclusion of sax and keys makes them sound like an extra-skronky Minutemen. Watching frontman Dan Cook bounce around after the sun set kept the energy going until their last note.

Vicar Amelia. // photo by Nick Spacek

The second band of the night was scramz act Vicar Amelia, making their debut. Five songs, with the usual slightly-uncomfortable-but-very-supportive between song pauses for any new band, but furious passion when in the thick of it. As a friend noted, “This sounds like a 7-inch I would’ve bought in 1994 and thought it was the SHIT.” Legit, Vicar Amelia is the band I can imagine opening for Coalesce 25 years ago while also making Scowl wonder if they’re heavy enough this time next summer.

If you missed them, you can catch them this Thursday, June 19, at the Replay with Eternal Dread and Death Pig.

Party Helmet. // photo by Nick Spacek

Openers Party Helmet played their first show in ages. Given the ever-shifting lineup, it was unsurprising to see a few new band members, but given the familiar faces, it wasn’t much of a shock, especially with frontperson Hannah Novaria’s ability to find excellent collaborators. Their rocking indie pop was both lovely and thanks to the energy, vibrantly electric.

Their closing version of Harvey Danger’s “Flapole Sitta” was just about perfect as an encapsulation of their goofy-yet-adept musical style, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

The Scriveners